HR magazine recently published a cover story entitled “Are You Too Family Friendly?”

It’s an issue because of the changing nature of the population in the United States.

“Slightly more than one in four households, 26 percent, consisted of a person living alone in 2006, up from 17 percent in 1970,” Susan J. Wells writes. “Unmarried and single U.S. residents numbered 92 million in 2006, making up 42 percent of all people 18 and older.” That’s up from 89 million in 2005.
. . .

Above, the cover of a book that describes the no kids lifestyle Down Under…

Millions of people are going “child free” and that will, in time, change the landscape of aging. I’m not saying it is better or worse, just different. Not mentioned, but also a major factor, are those who have biological children but do not have a care-giving relationship with them and have no expectation of such a relationship ever forming. This functional childlessness in the context of late life.

About Dr. Bill Thomas, ChangingAging.org

Bill is a visionary leader in the online Changing Aging movement and a world-renowned authority on geriatric medicine and eldercare. Bill is founder of two movements to reshape long-term care globally – The Eden Alternative and Green House Project. He is currently traveling the country influencing culture change with the Age of Disruption Tour.

Reader Interactions

Comments

Thoughts on “Revolt of the Childless” . . .
My husband and I have been married for 21.5+ years. We have no children and have remained active in the full-time workforce all of our lives. I prefer to take a proactive rather than reactive position on this issue.
My questions are: Why don’t companies and corporations extend the same “privileges” to families without children as they do to those with children? Why must these privileges be viewed as “extended benefits?”
A work environment can be transformed from a task-oriented, bureaucratic hierarchy into an organization focused on growing servant leaders and creating an ethos of caring. Ultimately, all human beings desire to be appreciated, understood, treated fairly and make connections. Developing a workforce committed to loving, caring, respecting and understanding fosters employee retention and creates a family in itself. Taking time to grow relationships creates a unique social fabric among teams of people and forms a “glue” to hold it together. Now add a progressive dose of empowerment to the mix and you have a recipe for growing a strong, interdependent workforce willing to help each other when family occurrences emerge. To some this may seem like a dream, however, I am immersed in such an environment everyday. We are changing the way life is lived and work is done in our Eldercare home.
Let’s also remember that childless couples may have non-traditional dependents who are of equal importance and require as much care or more than children do.
Society needs to be prepared to care for the aging baby boomers. In the near future, this large segment of our population may require our attention as intensely as our children do now. Will we ALL be ready to meet their needs? How will we meet each others’ needs during this time?